rior consideration, wholly out of the chain, and that love to God makes no part of the religion of the gospel, strictly speaking, although it be admitted that there is such an affection in the christian as love,* and such another affection as selfishness; if personal holiness be kept wholly out of sight, or so feebly or mystically explained, that the hearer will form no conception of its usefulness or importance; in short, if a perpetual strain of Divine promises, dealt out with no discrimination of character, and calculated to foster the deepest pride and most odious hypocrisy; if all these combined causes of ignorance, error and stupidity, will, in due time, produce astonishing effects, in this city, such effects may be looked for-indeed, are already partially produced.

If this strain of doctrine shall maintain its ground, and prevail in this city, it will soon become the most corrupt, abandoned, and profligate city on earth. These doctrines are themselves the floodgates of corruption. When religion sets a man loose from his obligations, what further restraint is to be expected? Religion was sent in aid of the voice of conscience. She kindled up her heavenly light, not to extinguish, but to pour new strength and brilliance into the lamp of reason: and that is not religion which makes war with every dictate of reason, justice, and common sense, and wraps itself from the eyes of men in glooms of obscurity and mists of darkness.

But if this scheme prevails in this city; if the plans and projects of the men by whom it is taught and abetted, are crowned with success; if they shall succeed in bearing down all before them, and bringing the people into their views, the great body of their hearers will soon become infidels in sentiment; their minds, wearied with a constant strain of absurdities and contradictions, will soon learn to identify religion with every thing unreasonable and contemptible. Their churches will be false

* Dr. M'Leod, Serm. 9, p. 369, says, "It is easy to show that personal religion includes the exercise of love to God and man." But I aver, that any reader, even with an eagle's eye, who shall read what he makes of it in the run of ten pages, will be convinced that it was no easy matter for him to show it: and, to be sure, such another whirl of chaotic atoms, as he there puts in motion, I never before saw.

and hollow as their doctrines. The pains they are taking to weed out all moral notions, nay, Divine love itself, which is the soul of all religion, as it is the nature of God, will instruct them, when it is too late, that christian ministers are but unprofitably employed in promoting selfishness, ignorance, and prejudice. But I leave them in the hands of him who is able to maintain the cause of truth; and who sometimes suffers errror to triumph as a punishment to the wicked.

INVESTIGATOR.

No. II.

THE GOOD PRESBYTERIAN.

(Concluded from the Fourth Series.)

PART II.

"O fortunati quorum, jam mœnia surgunt !"

PREACHING plain Scripture, without tedious reasonings, or dry and deceptive metaphysics, and preaching in such a manner as to give no offence to the proud, the ignorant, the hypocritical, the fastidious, the vicious, and the dull, form two grand qualifications of the good Presbyterian.

The good Presbyterian makes a conspicuous figure in the ecclesiastical courts.

In this grand article, I suspect that this class of men are perhaps surpassing all example of improvement. I have, with my own eyes, witnessed sudden attainments which almost reconciled me to the astonishing history of the admirable Crichton. New England, as much as she boasts of her theologieal improvements, must acknowledge that she is far surpassed in this article-in this high and exalted kind of ecclesiastical excellence.

If the venerable Findley or Davies could now come upon earth, they would be astonished at the magnitude and splendour of the improvements already made, and now making. Methinks I can almost hear what they would say, on such an occasion; they would exclaim, "Happy age! to be distinguished by such greatness! Happy people! born to such transcendent felicity! Happy country! formed for the theatre of such remarkable displays of wisdom! such varied excellences and generally to be ascribed to the good presbyterian, as every year unfolds itself in our ecclesiastical courts, is sufficient to challenge the admiration of the present generation, and I cannot but think, would be a useful lesson to the gentlemen of the law employed on our illustrious bench of civil justice; and, perhaps, also to our most distinguished civilians of every description.

Although brief, I shall be somewhat particular and elementary in this discussion; and would cheerfully submit it to the Mansfield of our civil courts to say, whether ecclesiastical jurisprudence in our country is not rising to a respectable and splendid rank.

1. On the convening of a spiritual court, you find yourself in a new atmosphere of peculiar influence, powers, and density. I hardly know what to call it, or to which of the departments of nature or science to turn, to aid my illustration. Perhaps the effects of some of the ærated gasses, in consequence of inspiration, might resemble it. You perceive a sharpness of intellect, an intensity of attention, an acuteness of eye, an agitation of muscular lines, varied and introverted circles of light and motion, thought and sentiment, and flashes of import cross and waver on the countenance. There seems at first nothing like amalgamation in the general mass. Every thing is stern, severe, biting, distant, alone, averse, opposite. But you are happy soon to perceive that all this is but a conscious thrill of the feelings of independent and inflexible justice. You are to consider that the only Law Book of this court is astonishingly concise-comprised, as I have said, in a few duodecimo pages. There is no Blackstone, Bacon, Coke, or even Burn's

* Judge K--.

Justice, to help along. There are few words of precedents, opinions, or decisions, to consult: yet every step is taken, every act is done by law or precedent-not a speech is made without the ample and imposing dress of parliamentary discussion.

The technical phrases of legislatures and courts of justice, of lawyers and congress orators, are necessary, and at all events must be had, or the cause is injured, the dignity of the court impaired, and the speaker sunk down to nothing. No wonder, then, at this thrill of anxiety, this oppressive load of care, at the opening of a session, when the full tale of bricks are to be made, and no straw afforded, nor even stubble to be gathered, but from the headlands, balks, and corners of distant fields, and scanty harvests. And many of the court, not having the advantake of Puffendorff, Montesquieu, or Vattel, are even uncertain of the Jus Naturale, Morale, et Civile, of every case. All these evils are suddenly remedied in a manner truly astonishing; for,

First, The courtly air of every thing in this new region, this laboratory of ecclesiastical jurisprudence, is such, that numbers begin, without knowing it, to breathe the air and spirit of law. As was said, in another case, and with variant import, they, in one moment, have a new heart, become other men, and have new powers of intuition, and new modes of communication. You shall see one rise, and with the most perfect parliamentary air, such as would appear in Wilberforce or Canning, call for "the order of the day," although, three hours before this transformation, he would certainly not have known what that phrase meant. Another will arrest a debate and insist on "the previous question," perhaps never, till the inspiration of that propitious moment, knowing the technical import of that phrase. Another, with singular adroitness, shall rise to move that a committee be appointed to report a resolution, to overturn a cause, to change or new model the form of a minute to be entered on record.

With astonishing expertness they acquire the style of a deliberative legislative assembly, over which is completely superinduced the technical phrases of courts of law. To say nothing

of the convenience of this learned language, I may remark how very necessary it is, in a judicatory, which, in fact, holds plenary powers, both legislative, judicial and executive. But,

Secondly, It is not to be understood that every member in this court, can suddenly rise to this great attainment. Many heavy, plodding men, of mere plain common sense, have the infelicity never to be able to acquire this skill. They must jog on as they can, but they never can hope to arrive at eminence, or place their feet on the shoulders of others; of course, they can neither shove those above them, nor rise from the dead level of the base of the pyramid-can never become good presby

terians.

I have often heard it remarked, that a man who means to acquire influence, must be active in the judicatories of the church; and this notion seems to be the main spring of action. The skill of which I am speaking, is the grand desideratum. There is one art, it is said, in which some men never can acquire skill,* Enough, however, can acquire this juridical skill, to give tone to the system, to take a decided preeminence, and to inspire a much larger number with emulation.

Parliamentary business has one dialect, courts of justice another, theologians a third; common, civil, statute, and canon laws, have distinct phrases, and separate courts; but in the court before us, they all unite the spirit of their maxims, and the concentrated and rectified science of their language. But it is the superlative felicity of a few men, a few, very few rare spirits, to exhibit perfect models here. I have them this moment in my eye;

"Eloquar, an sileam ?"

Where not the admiration of men a principle of absolute levity, they carry enough of it about them, to crush Hercules, Sampson, or Atlas. But light as it is, I fear to load them with more; I shall therefore be silent.

But though I must not speak names, I surely may give some lines, perhaps filled with a little mezzotinto, in doing which I shall feel an inward satisfaction, and, perhaps, give to some a de

* Freemasonry.